I found some interesting comparisons:

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2001-02/02rn21.htm
http://www1.oecd.org/publications/observer/212/Article5_eng.htm
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/8Comparison.htm
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita

It seems there are a lot of factors.




>Follow http://www.allyoucanread.com/rank_gini_index.asp through and you get the top 10% with 30% of the income.
>
>Alan
>
>>Hi Walter,
>>
>>I have heard that same statement many times (90/10). Yet the highest percentage of households in the U.S. is in the 30,000.00 to 49,000.000 annual salary range:
>>
>>http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/appliances/appliances.html
>>
>>Interestingly, 99.9% of American households have a refrigerator, 99.7% of them a stove and/or oven, and 98.9% have a color television. I guess color television must be a necessity now no matter your income level.
>>
>>Look at the number of households that have a washer, dryer, stereo, cell phone, vcr(s), and a dishwasher. It is all very interesting. Those living in poverty in the U.S. live pretty well compared to those living in poverty in other countries.
>>
>>I'd be interested in seeing the same scales for European countries. Do you have a link by any chance?
>>
>>I guess I should own up to the fact that I have 4 color televisions, 3 DVD players, 4 vcr players, 3 computers, 4 monitors (2 19", 1 17", 1 15"), 1 Sony Playstation 2, a trash compacter, a dishwasher, an oven, a stove, a very large refrigerator with water/ice in the door, 3 bathrooms, and I could go on. I am a divorced single-mother living in my own home and I have a college degree. Is that unusual? I think not. I have been in a higher income level and I have been at the very bottom. Yet I have never gone without anything I needed ever. There are quite a few areas that could be improved here in the U.S. but we actually have very few living in real hardship. There are some, but not many. I would like to see an income and living condition comparison chart of the U.S. and other European countries.